A series of meetings have been scheduled for April 15-16 to give residents an opportunity to help shape the Greater Des Moines Cultural Plan by sharing opinions about the community’s arts, cultural and heritage activities, Bravo Greater Des Moines announced.

The Cultural Plan for Greater Des Moines is a community initiative to help ensure the long-term vitality and growth of the region’s arts and cultural organizations and venues, and will include a comprehensive plan with specific recommendations to achieve those goals. The plan is being sponsored by Bravo Greater Des Moines and a grant from Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino.

“The Cultural Plan represents an important step in ensuring that our region’s cultural arts and heritage resources are supported, sustained and embraced by the public. The plan has the potential to strengthen the ways in which arts groups impact our community,” said MD Isley, executive director of Bravo Greater Des Moines.

The meetings will be on four specific topics: Collaborative Marketing & Audience Development (April 15 – 8:30 to 10 a.m.); Arts & Entrepreneurialism (April 15 – 10:30 a.m. to noon); Technical Assistance & Processional Development (April 16 – 10:30 a.m. to noon); and Civic Engagement with Architecture and Public Art (April 16 – 1 to 2:30 p.m.). All meetings will be held in the Arthur Davis Conference Center of the Greater Des Moines Partnership Building, 700 Locust St.

Co-chairs for the process are Christine Hensley, Connie Wimer (chairman of Business Publications LLC) and Steve Zumbach. Bravo will unveil the plan in late spring or early summer of 2010.